Top film locations venues in Westminster

If you’re a scout looking for a film location for your next project – be it a film, photography shoot, TV series or online content – we might well have the perfect film location venues for you.

Our portfolio of buildings contains a wide variety of contemporary and historic London filming locations, many with fabulous views, stunning spaces and great access for crews.

We have over 50 unique properties on our books, all within one of the most historically significant and iconic boroughs of London. You can either get in touch with us directly or use our online tool to help you narrow down your options.

We’re proud of the role some of our venues have played in previous film and TV productions including A Spy Among Friends, Trigger Point and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Why Westminster is the perfect location for film productions

Westminster is the home of Government, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Every year millions of tourists flock to see its iconic landmarks and some of London’s most famous backdrops.

As well as housing some of the country’s most historically important buildings, the central London borough of Westminster also boasts some stunning, contemporary architecture (perfect for a striking film set). Many of its venues enjoy unrivalled views over the River Thames with the popular Southbank (think the London Eye and County Hall) in clear view just over the water.

As you would imagine, being one of the most popular destinations within the capital, Westminster’s infrastructure is more than capable of dealing with the transport needs of a full production crew. Public transport links are second-to-none and all our venues have the facilities for the delivery of large pieces of filming equipment and props.

Benefits of filming in Westminster

The versatility of our venues means that we can cater for a wide range of genres, from period dramas to cutting-edge police shows. Our Westminster film location venues include: Historic event spaces such as the Churchill War Rooms, The Inner Temple, and The Houses of Parliament; entertainment and arts venues including The Royal College of Music, Lumiere’s The Embassy, and Leicester Square’s Vue Cinema and some more off-beat spaces like the Westminster Boating Base and London Transport Museum.

Accessibility and logistics

Westminster borough has 32 London Underground tube stations, four train stations, three Elizabeth Line stations and around 495 bus stops which are served by 73 day-time bus routes. We’re pretty sure this little lot will ensure you and your team can easily access our venues from wherever they’re coming from. As well as having excellent transport links for crew and cast, our venues are used to facilitating the drop-off and pick up of large and delicate film equipment and all of the weird and wonderful paraphernalia that can come with a shoot.

All our venues offer high-quality, in-house catering and refreshments which means you don’t need to worry about hiring in outside catering teams to feed your cast and crew.

Being in the heart of the City also means we have a huge array of hotels on our doorstep, with everything from budget accommodation to some of the most luxurious properties in the world. We’re confident there will be overnight options that will suit the purses of all the members of your group, even high-profile cast members.

Westminster is home to celeb hangouts including The Landmark and the Baglioni hotels – Al Pacino, Halle Berry and Will Smith having apparently stayed in the latter. Hotel 41, Corinthia London and The Goring Hotel are also known to host world-famous clients, although finding out exactly who’s stayed with them isn’t easy as discretion is obviously an important part of their customer service.

Support services and expertise

The staff at Westminster Venue Collection know the rules and regulations of their borough inside out. They are more than happy to help any location managers ensure they’re applying for the correct permits, if necessary. They can also offer advice on any logistical challenges you might be facing, particularly with finding accessible film locations.

We understand that every shoot is different and comes with its own, unique requirements and our location management services can help scouts who are booking with any of our members. The Westminster City Council is always on hand to ensure you plan a safe and successful film shoot in the popular borough. Details of commercial filming and photography in Westminster, including restricted film location venues, can be found on their website.

Films with Westminster venues on the Big Screen

 

 

How venue finding service can help find your next film location in London

Film location venues can be hard to find. A lot of a scout’s time is spent trawling through places which, for one reason or another, are never going to work out. The great thing about using a venue-finding service to find your Westminster shoot location is that we do a lot of the hard work for you. We’ll only present you with a short-list of quotes from venues that can accommodate your needs, saving you valuable time.

Your next flexible filming location in London

Sending your requirements over to us at Westminster Venue Collection will only take a few minutes and could save you hours of searching through venues which will prove to be dead ends. Drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll only come back to you with quotes from venues that we know can fulfil your brief. Alternatively, you can browse our collection of spaces and buildings and then use our search tool to create a shortlist.

Regent’s celebrates success at London Venue Awards

Regent’s Conferences & Events has been recognised for its unique outdoor space and flexibility, winning the Bronze Award for Best Venue with Outside Space in the London Venue Awards 2022.

The awards, which were presented at The Kia Oval, London on Friday 11 November, aimed to recognise and reward outstanding achievement in London-based venues and catering companies.

The accolade comes after a record-breaking summer of success at Regent’s, as the team evolves its outdoor events offering year-on-year. The past 12 months has been no different. Due to the increasing demand for excess space, the lawns have proven to be incredibly sought after. The venue was virtually booked out by April 2022, but even after inevitable COVID dropouts, rail strikes and cancellations, it still saw 90% occupancy – 30% above target.

The outdoor space is unique in its versatility for events.  Perfectly positioned for balancing convenience with secluded privacy in the heart of London, the four acres of gardens are just a few steps away from the city’s hustle and bustle. The expanse of landscaped lawns, paired with a hidden, gated Secret Garden offers a fairy-tale-like setting with wildflowers, lush greenery, and excellent views of the city’s horizon. Concealed by foliage, the hidden space is accessed via a walkway covered by a beautiful pergola.  

Responding to the award success, Rafael Azzopardi, Interim Head of Catering and Events said: “To pick up another prestigious award for our summer party offering is testament to the consistency in service and facilities over the past few years. It’s brilliant to have the team’s extraordinary effort over the past 12 months recognised, as they continue to produce outstanding events in our outdoor space, despite all sorts of challenges thrown their way. We are quite fortunate to have such a large, private outdoor area in such a convenient location in London, and visitors are frequently astounded by the venue’s rural setting despite being only a short distance from the bustle of the city.

“It’s undoubtedly a fantastic motivation for the team to deliver another season of memorable outdoor events in 2023, as demand for the summer has already picked up.”

Find out more about Regent’s event space.

Westminster Venue Collection appoint a new Chair of the Board of Directors

Westminster Venue Collection are pleased to announce they have appointed a new Chair of the Board of Directors, Barbara Wutte.

Following the start of Westminster Venue Collection’s new membership year, the Board of Directors and members came together for their Annual General Meeting at the beautiful Inner Temple last month.

Kindly hosted by Stacey Barber and her team on 20th September 2022, the meeting provided a great opportunity to give members an update on the recent news and exciting initiatives planned for the organisation’s coming membership year.

It was announced that Barbara Wutte, Head of Conferences at The Royal Society, will take over from Rachel Azzopardi who has been Chair of Westminster Venue Collection for the past four years.

Rachel was warmly thanked for her hard work and dedication, especially through the pandemic, and the Collection wish her well for her next ventures.

During her time on the Board, Barbara Wutte has been a key figure in the membership’s vision and growth, so her appointment came as a natural transition following Rachel Azzopardi’s resignation as Chair.

This year, the Board have decided to appoint a new position of Vice Chair for the organisation. To allow contingency planning, it was also agreed that the role of Vice Chair will then become Chair after a year of tenure.

The new position of Vice Chair will be held by Paul Martins, New Business Development Manager at Make Venues Broadway House, who has championed the collective using successful case studies. The next Vice Chair will then be elected in turn at the next AGM.

Progressively, WVC has launched a new Member Engagement and Events Committee, consisting of Kay Davies of the Houses of Parliament, Marina Papadopoulou of Church House Westminster and Jonathan Chohan of One Great George Street.

Rhiannon Thomas of Central Hall Westminster will head up plans for The Meetings Show and Thomas Mauch of the QEII Centre will continue to direct IT and website development.

Barbara Wutte, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Westminster Venue Collection says: “Member engagement is our top priority. The new WVC vision must be to increase the number of members and to strengthen our brand. This will allow us to market all our member venues with further activity nationally and then beyond”.

The WVC Board encourages venues in the Westminster region who would like to be represented to join this prestigious collection and help shape an exciting new chapter into 2023.